0

Ahead of the next General Election, over 150 UK tech startups and investors have backed a new “Startup Manifesto” (in PDF or Slideshare) aimed at lobbying the main UK political parties to shape policy towards a tech-driven society.

The non-partisan 24-point Startup Manifesto, published by the non-profit Coalition for a Digital Economy (known as Coadec) asks policymakers to — among others things — invest in super fast broadband and relax rules on hiring international talent, including streamlining visas for entrepreneurs and graduates, and improve the teaching of coding in schools.

The Manifesto, put together by Coadec Executive Director Guy Levin (a former economic adviser to the Chancellor, George Osborne MP, when he was in Opposition) has received an encouraging reaction from politicians so far.

Chuka Umunna MP (Shadow Business Secretary) said: “We want to see more people starting up, leading and working in business and the creation of high-skilled, better-paid jobs. Britain’s burgeoning digital economy has a huge role to play in meeting both of these challenges, and that’s why Coadec’s manifesto is right to emphasise the importance of digital startups as well as the need to foster digital skills.”

Matthew Hancock MP (Minister of State at the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills) commented: “There’s no doubt there is yet more to do and we will scour any proposals to make Britain the best place in the world to start and grow a business.”

In the main it calls for:

• Cutting taxes for entrepreneurs, including reducing National Insurance Contributions (NICs) for startups that volunteer to teach coding,

• Retraining those made redundant by disruptive technology, rather than blocking innovation through protective regulation,

• Opening the doors to tech talent from outside the EU by restoring the post-study work visa and allowing VCs to sponsor employees on behalf of startups,

• Backing the UK’s FinTech companies by creating a legal framework for Bitcoin, and digitising the identity checks required for Anti-Money Laundering procedures.

The full list of recommendations can be found in the Manifesto here or below

Robin Klein (Partner, Index Ventures) said: “The progress made during the past few years towards making the UK the best place in the world to start and run a company has been significant. There is however much more to be done. This manifesto is packed with practical ideas which in the aggregate would make further meaningful strides towards the UK’s goal.”

Damian Kimmelman (Founder and CEO, DueDil) said: “If adopted, these recommendations would give us the edge we’ll need in a hyper-competitive global economy.”

Jon Bradford (MD, Techstars London): “Over the last four years, the government has done a huge amount to nurture the startup ecosystem… But now is an important juncture: if we are to continue on this path of growth, we need to consolidate the accomplishments to date.”

Taavet Hinrikus, Co-founder of TransferWise, said: “Within a decade, technology will have transformed the world as we know it. Banking, for instance, is already changing, and London appears – at least for the moment – to be leading the way. However, there is so much more the next government could do to secure this.”

Tom Raffe (Founder, Screenburn) said: “Computing in schools is an issue I’m particularly interested in as we need to continue to produce first class developers in order to complete on a global level. It will be essential to have a thorough review of ICT education in schools in order to plan for the future.”

Coadec is sponsored by Google, TechHub, iHorizon and Intuit.

The Startup Manifesto Recommendations:

Improve access to finance
1. Commit to keeping SEIS and EIS tax reliefs for the next Parliament
2. Bring back tax reliefs for Corporate Venture Capital
3. Remove the cap on Entrepreneurs’ Relief and lower the equity threshold

Improve access to talent
4. Restore post-study work visas for STEM graduates
5. Make it easier for startups to hire from overseas
6. Reform the Graduate Entrepreneur Visa
7. Open up the Entrepreneur Visa to those with funding from angel investors and crowdfunding platforms
8. Review and streamline visa processes with the support of the Government Digital Service
9. Invest to help teachers deliver the new computing curriculum
10. Create incentives for individuals and startups to help train teachers and students
11. Promote free tools including Moocs, Codecademy, and third sector initiatives like code clubs

Build world class digital infrastructure and increase supply of affordable office space
12. Continue to invest in superfast connectivity and raise the level of ambition for digital infrastructure
13. Review the planning system and property regulations to increase the supply of affordable office space for startups

Bring laws and regulations into the 21st Century
14. Make it government policy to support disruptive innovation and create an environment where people and businesses can adapt
15. Encourage permissionless innovation
16. Commit more resources to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)
17. Create a framework for data protection that gives confidence to consumers and does not stifle innovation
18. Continue to support fintech innovation
19. Review regulations surrounding collaborative consumption and the ‘sharing economy’

Use digital government to unlock innovation
20. Make it easier for startups to sell to government
21. Commit to keep and expand the Government Digital Service
22. Create standards for secure online identity assurance
23. Accelerate progress towards ‘Government as a Platform’, including releasing APIs for government services
24. Go further on open data, including real-time performance dashboards for all government services

Disclosures: The Coadec non-profit organisation was originally founded by Mike Butcher and Jeff Lynn, founder of Seedrs. Seedrs backs the Manifesto. Butcher remains on the board of Coadec advisors and is also a director of TechHub, a Coadec sponsor.